


Blood Feud

by Tarlan



Category: Eureka, Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Community: casestory, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2013-06-15
Packaged: 2017-12-14 13:04:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/837199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's only after Jack goes missing that Nathan admits, if only to himself, exactly how he feels about Jack. Realizing he is in a race against time to find Jack before it is too late, Nathan asks for help from the only other person on the planet who has a greater chance of locating Jack than Global Dynamics - his estranged half-brother, Tony Stark.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Feud

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Artwork for 'Blood Feud' by Tarlan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/837427) by [danceswithgary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithgary/pseuds/danceswithgary). 
  * Inspired by [Blood Feud Book Cover](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/23256) by Sexycazzy. 



> Mentions canon relationships. Alternate Universe where Nathan doesn't sacrifice himself to stop the time loops destroying the universe.  
> With many thanks to my wonderful beta **taibhrigh**  
>  Also many thanks to **danceswithgary** and **sexycazzy** for their lovely artwork.

      
Artwork by Danceswithgary and SexyCazzy 

"Deputy Lupo. What can I do for you?"

Jo froze for a moment, having not expected to hear Stark's voice on the other end of the line.

"I was after Fargo."

"Not here. Just me. Anything I can do for an officer of the law?"

Jo frowned because Stark actually sounded cheerful. She thought of how Jack would react to that, imagining a snide comment asking if Stark had fired a few scientists or run over a few old ladies on his way back from dinner at Café Diem. Instead, her thoughts of Jack made her decide to take advantage of the good mood.

"I was wondering if Sheriff Carter was there."

Silence. "Really." The silence lengthened just a beat too long for comfort and she could almost imagine the wicked smile widening on his face. "So you've lost your Sheriff."

It wasn't posed as a question, yet she winced as the tone of his smug statement seemed to tighten just a little in what she could only imagine was contempt, silently wishing the pair of them would try to be amicable outside of town business, or at least pretend. Except that wasn't fair to either of them. From what she had seen in recent months, they were at least trying to be civil to each other in public, going so far as to share a table at Cafe Diem once or twice to her recollection. It was not as if they had Allison to fight over any more as she turned both of them down flat and got engaged to that really nice guy, Doctor Coles, with the tunneler machine; a volcanologist or something. If Jo hadn't been so concerned about Jack then she would have ended the conversation right there but, instead, she felt the need to explain.

"Zoe called in ten minutes ago. He hasn't come home. I've tried calling him but he isn't answering so I thought, maybe he's in a secure area of Global?"

She let that end as a question because it was feasible. There were areas of Global Dynamics that were so restricted that no communication devices were allowed beyond the checkpoints, and other areas had a dampening field that prevented any signals even if a phone was switched on.

Stark remained quiet for a moment longer, then gave a heavy, put-upon sigh. In the background she could hear him lightly tapping on that expensive computer desk that dominated his office. She hoped he was bringing up the security data of everyone who had come through the checkpoint into Global but who had yet to leave.

"No."

"He's not at Global?" she asked for clarification.

"No. I'll assume you've already run a trace on his phone's GPS?"

"That's why I called. If he was in one of the secure sections, it wouldn't register."

Stark was silent for a moment, and it took her a moment to realize that the smugness had lifted from his tone, leaving something unrecognizable in its place. "When was the last time he was in contact?"

"There was a call out to one of the remote labs just before shift end. He said he'd check it out on his way home, and he reported back fifteen minutes later with an all clear... nothing amiss."

"Which lab?"

"The one off Pavlov Lane. I was about to go check it-."

"Sending security footage to you now."

Jo looked down and, sure enough, a new window had opened on her PC screen showing the security camera footage from that area. Jack's police vehicle was a dark but recognizable shape, still parked outside the laboratory.

"That's... strange," she stated softly. "Can you go back to 17:00 hours?"

She watched the video change, with dusk replacing the night time view from moments earlier. Jo knew Stark would be watching this too as the image captured Jack standing outside his open driver's door, talking on the radio. There was no sound but she knew from the long delay, and the smirk curving his lips before he formed the word ' _over_ ', that he'd been talking with her at the time, teasing her relentlessly as usual. The smirk became a broad grin as he replaced the radio mike and started to climb back into the vehicle, but then he stopped, head whipping round. She watched as he took two steps away from the jeep, calling out to someone to wait. Jo saw him hesitate, then reach in to grab that old fashion radio he had asked Henry to fix for him before slamming shut the driver's door and running off. Stark fast forwarded through the rest of the security footage, but Jack never returned.

"We need Taggart," Stark said tightly, but this time she could hear concern in his voice rather than the usual irritation.

****

Jo was curious when Stark's beamer pulled up behind Taggart's utility vehicle, but even more surprised when she realized Stark had changed out of his expensive suit and into boots, jeans and a warm jacket. He pulled a couple of high-beam, state-of-the-art flashlights out of the trunk and handed one to Jo. Another vehicle pulled up and Jo recognized two security guards from Global.

Taggart was adjusting his night vision goggles. "He's probably got turned around in the woods," his voice dropped, "And if we don't find him, he'll wander around lost until hikers come across his half-gnawed bones, decades later."

That seemed to amuse Stark. "O...kay. Let's go find our missing Sheriff before he becomes food for the bears."

"Right. I'll take point. Everybody stay on my rear." Taggart looked over his shoulder, grimacing uncomfortably when one of the security guys stepped up close enough to almost drape himself over Taggart's back. "Not. That. Close."

Taggart darted forward, stopping occasionally to touch a broken twig, or to brush an impression in the ground that could have been a boot print, using the tips of his fingers.

"Two of them," he stated. He tapped at one impression and then pointed to another. "The Sheriff's...." His voice dropped. "And an unknown other. The length of the stride says they were moving fast but carefully." He looked towards Stark. "They were running together, not one in pursuit of the other."

"How do you know?" Stark asked.

"Footsteps overlapping each other. Sometimes Carter's are on top, which means he was following, and at other times..."

Stark nodded tightly. "The other person was following him."

Jo kept her eyes both on the trail and on Taggart as they moved through the dark woods that surrounded Eureka on all sides. Occasionally they caught the light reflecting back creepily from animal eyes, and above the rustle of the breeze through the trees, she heard an owl hoot. She pulled up sharp when Taggart stepped into a small clearing, his arms going wide to prevent anyone stepping beyond him.

"Oh no," he whispered raggedly.

"What is it now, Taggart?" Stark moved up beside him, and Jo wondered if the irritation was simply covering concern. She still wasn't sure why Stark was with them, unless he had plans to use this to antagonize Jack mercilessly once they found him.

"They stopped here." He took three long strides forward and crouched down, fingers dipping into first one boot impression in the damp earth, and then another made by the same foot. "A twist... then lighter."

His eyes darted towards the brush and Jo shone her flashlight in that direction. Something reflected back dully that was man-made. She moved closer and using a strong stick, she lifted the heavy item so they could all see it. It was Jack's police utility belt, though the gun and handcuffs were missing.

"Over here," Taggart called, and Jo moved forward with the others, shining a light over the shattered remains of Jack's phone and radio, but Taggart remained standing, very still as he stared off into the woods. "It was an ambush. Two others were lying in wait. Here, and here." The light cast his face into sharp angles. "Carter's not lost. He's been abducted."

"Which way did they go?" Stark demanded.

Taggart moved across the clearing and back into the dense woods, and Jo followed with Jack's gun belt still in her hand. Minutes later, they stepped out onto an old logger's road next to Taggart, looking down the rarely used track into the darkness beyond the reach of Taggart's powerful flashlight.

"They went this way, and they have a six hour head start," Taggart stated ominously.

****

Nathan looked down the stretch of track and cursed. Carter could be a few hundred miles away by now. 

For all its high technology, not even Global Dynamics had a way of tracking an unknown vehicle along the main highways by its tread pattern alone. Plus there was no guarantee that Carter's abductors hadn't already abandoned that vehicle for another. All Nathan could do was head back to Global and see if any of the surveillance cameras and satellites had picked up the vehicle while it was still within the town limits, to at least give them a starting point.

As they made their way back through the woods to where they had left the cars, Nathan felt a tense silence descend with everyone wrapped in their own thoughts. A glance sideways revealed Lupo's small, tense figure moving with purpose but with senses on heightened alert. Despite her very scary love of big guns, he tended to forget that she hadn't always been the town's deputy sheriff. She was a soldier - Special Forces - trained in ways that made Carter seem like a kid playing at being the big, bad sheriff. Except Nathan had seen first hand that Carter could be every bit as dangerous and intimidating when it came to the safety of others.

After that incident with the speed drug, where he had completely underestimated Carter's skills, he had read transcripts of interviews Carter had held, and reports from fugitive hunts where he'd taken the lead. Nathan had discovered someone much darker beneath the wholesome, goofball persona presented to the town.

Carter might not have the highest I.Q. in Eureka, but he had a different kind of intelligence. He'd heard Lupo call it ' _street smarts_ ' but it was more a kind of people skill. Carter seemed to be able to read people the way others read a book. He seemed to understand the driving forces behind their actions, and had an instinct for when he wasn't being told the whole truth. The problem in Eureka was that everyone had secrets to hide so Carter's internal lie detector must have been set on full alert since the day he first set foot in the town. His intuition had set him apart almost immediately, making up for his lack of a higher education and a PhD, and his affability and fairness had endeared him to the town very quickly.

It was the first time in Eureka's history that the D.O.D. had appointed a civilian as sheriff instead of bringing in someone from the military. It had done so at the personal recommendation of the former Sheriff, Major Cobb, and Allison, who had been the D.O.D. Liaison at the time. From what Nathan had gathered, Carter hadn't seen going from U.S. Marshal to Town Sheriff as a promotion, and Nathan could only imagine what he might still be doing had he turned it down.

There was a lot of information in Carter's file that had been redacted - names of witnesses, judges, and events that couldn't be made public knowledge for reasons of national security or witness protection. Nathan had top level clearance but some of it was ' _need to know_ ' even for him, and most of the information that required just his security level clearance concerned cases that would have made the national papers. Even so, the media had a long standing agreement with the U.S. Marshal's office and other government law enforcement agencies never to disclose the name of agents or U.S. Marshals involved in any case, just referring to them by title: Lead U.S. Marshal, Deputy Marshal, Police Officer.

Nathan recognized at least one high profile case involving an escaped serial killer, Jordan McKinnley, that had put half of the country on alert for the duration of the manhunt. McKinnley had taken two more lives before the U.S. Marshals caught up with him and the judicial system sent him to the electric chair. Nathan recognized Carter's writing style in the typed reports on those butchered victims, aware that Carter had been the one to find the bodies both times, and eventually track down McKinnley and capture him.

Someone had abducted Jack Carter, and the list of potential suspects included everyone connected to any law enforcement action from a long and distinguished service in both the L.A.P.D and the U.S. Marshals. It also had to include anyone with an ax to grind since Carter took over as Sheriff in Eureka. Carter's investigations had caused the redaction and imprisonment of a number of scientists for serious offenses, including espionage and murder.

Nathan realized that it had to feel sickeningly offensive, especially for those with an exceptionally high I.Q., to be bested by someone of average intelligence like Carter.

Recalling the case note summaries from his U.S. Marshal's file alone, Nathan could see it was going to be a damn long list, and it was easy to see why Carter's marriage had failed. The man had been dedicated to his job, spending weeks away at a time hunting down criminals or protecting federal witnesses or judges. Not that Nathan had been that much better. He knew his marriage to Allison had failed because he couldn't balance his hunger for knowledge and, yeah, political power, with a home life. His attempt to win her back had failed for the same reason, with his obsession over the artifact coming before her needs.

It had taken a few years, and Allison turning down both of them and starting up a relationship with Doctor Coles, for Nathan to realize that his main problem with Carter had always been one of denial. It was easy to believe he hated Carter when he thought they were rivals for Allison's affection but once that barrier was removed, Nathan discovered the truth of an old saying about there being a thin line between love and hate.

Not that he was ready to go as far as admit that he had fallen in love with the man, but yeah, he didn't actively dislike Carter anymore. If anything, they had formed a begrudging friendship over recent months, gravitating towards each other because they both held positions of authority in the town, which made it harder to form deeper attachments elsewhere. Meetings at Global between him and Allison as joint heads of G.D., Carter, and Henry, in his role of Eureka's mayor to discuss town problems, had turned into business lunches at Café Diem. More recently lunch had turned into off-duty dinners or drinks, until two days ago when they realized they were sitting across from each other without Allison or Henry, and with nothing on their minds except a need for a drink and the dubious pleasure of each other's company.

Wasn't that a definition of friendship? Nathan thought.

He reached his car and climbed in quickly, knowing the others would follow him back to Global. Not wanting to waste a single minute more, he called his assistant as he stepped on the gas.

"Fargo! I need a trace on a vehicle."

Nathan gave all the relevant details to Fargo - time and place - and hoped he would have something for him by the time he and the others reached Global.

Striding into his office with Lupo and Taggart only a few steps behind, his eyes moved immediately to the main monitor as Fargo pulled up what he had found so far. A nondescript black van had exited the track less than thirty minutes after Carter's last transmission, heading away from the town. Fargo tracked it beyond the town limits, catching it in several remotely accessible cameras along the route to Sommersville - and then it vanished.

"It could be anywhere in this area," Fargo drew a large circle around an industrial area close to Sommersville.

"And Carter could be in any one of those cars and trucks leaving the area in the last five and half hours," Taggart stated ominously.

Nathan had a sick feeling that he had reached the end of the trail as far as Global was concerned. He had access to defense grids and amazing technology within the town but the rest of the country was out of his range. Lupo seemed to sense this too.

"I need to call this in to the D.O.D," she added softly. "They'll coordinate with the other agencies including the F.B.I. and U.S. Marshals."

Nathan nodded, for the first time understanding the enormity of the task ahead. He was also gaining more respect for Carter's former position as a U.S. Marshal, and his ability to track down a criminal across the whole of the country. Except this wasn't quite the same thing. They weren't hunting an escaped felon who was looking for any means to remain alive and free. He was also aware that there was little reason for anyone kidnapping the town's sheriff for ransom or access to technology when the kidnappers had a town full of far easier and more malleable victims.

Carter had put numerous felons behind bars or on death row, and someone had lured him to that spot deliberately. For all any of them knew, Carter's abductors might have already killed him and disposed of his body.

This realization almost took Nathan's breath away, and he ruthlessly crushed the thought and its accompanying fear before it could overwhelm him. He had to believe Carter was still alive, or why else would they have taken him in the first place? If they had simply wanted Carter dead then Taggart would have found his body in a shallow grave in the woods.

Still, Nathan knew they couldn't afford to spend weeks looking for Carter, tracing down leads. If this was someone from Carter's past seeking vengeance then time simply wasn't on Carter's side, and that left Nathan with only one possible avenue for gaining the highly technical help that he needed.

Lupo caught his attention again, swallowing hard. "I need to tell Zoe..."

Nathan bowed his head, having forgotten all about Carter's young daughter, who had to be frantic with worry for dad right about now.

"Under the circumstances, I think you should leave Zoe Carter at the bunker." He turned. "Fargo, tell S.A.R.A.H. to go into lock down and keep Zoe safe. Allow only the people in this room, Henry and Doctor Blake access until we find Carter."

Taggart frowned and placed a restraining hand on Lupo's arm when she tensed. "You really think that's necessary, mate?"

"Someone took Carter. We don't know who, and we don't know why, and until we have answers, I'd like to keep Miss Carter safely out of their reach. Which means she either stays in the bunker, or she's brought to Global."

Lupo relaxed a fraction. "Fine. But I'm heading over there as soon as I've made those calls." 

"Do what you have to do, Deputy. Now if you'd excuse me, I need to make a call."

****

Tony frowned when he saw the caller ID on his ultra-private line. Very few had this number - and for good reason - though he'd almost forgotten that one of them was his younger half-brother. He hadn't spoken to Nathan in years, not since the week after he charmed the very beautiful Allison Blake into his bed only to learn of Nathan's intention to ask for her hand in marriage.

It was not as if Nathan and Allison were even _dating_ at the time so how was he to know his brother was in love with her?

It was just one more moment of sibling rivalry, fueled partly by their Uncle Obadiah, who had never liked the woman who had tried to replace Tony's mother, or the illegitimate son she'd borne and given the surname STARK on the birth certificate, with his father's blessing. Although the majority of Stark Industries' shares had gone to Tony, his father had provided Nathan with a small inheritance, reducing Obadiah's expected share of the company. For the most part Nathan remained a silent shareholder, staying out of the family business, though Tony knew he had considered taking up one of the high level research posts after some incident at that think tank of a town called Eureka a year earlier.

Debating a moment longer, he gave an impatient sigh and accepted the call.

"Nathan. Long time."

"I need a favor."

"To the point. Always liked that about you."

"Someone I... know has been abducted. Whoever has him isn't going to keep him alive for long."

"Someone you _know_." Tony smiled. "Well, it can't be Allison or her son Kevin or you'd have said so. Yet it has to be someone important to you personally or you'd leave it in the hands of the F.B.I. and D.O.D." Tony smirked. "So not just someone you... _know_."

"Tony-."

"And you used the male objective personal pronoun... _him_." Tony sank back into the luxurious butter-soft leather of his couch and grinned, recalling Nathan's equal opportunity dating history back in college. "Has my baby half-brother got himself a new crush... on a man?"

"This was a mistake."

The line went dead and Tony looked at the handset with intrigue before tapping it against his chin, deep in thought. This ' _him_ ' had to be someone special if Nathan was prepared to ask for help specifically rather than use his influence within Stark Industries to simply take what he needed. Before Afghanistan, he would have shrugged it off at this point but those months locked away in a cave and fearing for his life every day had changed him in subtle ways. Ever since he got back he'd had an urge to contact Nathan to try to heal the rift between them, especially after learning that it was Obadiah who had paid to have him abducted - and killed.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. Get me everything you can find on this abduction," he ordered, knowing the A.I. would have monitored the call from Nathan and would extrapolate from there. "Send it to my lab."

Pushing up from the couch, he headed down, smiling at his own brilliance as the main holoscreen burst into life with images and data. Tony tilted his head as he examined the image of Sheriff Jack Carter, recalling how Nathan's taste in men seemed to be almost the polar opposite of his taste in women except in beauty. Allison was beautiful with mocha-dark skin and two doctorates, one in medicine, whereas Carter was almost the epitome of an All-American boy with his pale skin, dark blond hair, and blue eyes, but with a college education that had barely gained him a qualification high enough to apply for the U.S. Marshals. From his record, Carter was like Captain Wonder-Boy though - street smart - and Tony wondered if this was what had drawn Nathan to him, along with the obvious handsome outer packaging.

He noticed that Global Dynamics had already identified the type of vehicle used in the abduction and had followed it to a nearby town. Tony circled an area of Sommersville.

"Access every monitoring device within this area over the past six hours. I want to find that vehicle."

Tony lost track of time as images flashed across the screen from building security surveillance to cameras in cell phones.

"Stop." He touched one image in particular. "Follow that one."

More images of varying granularity flashed across the screen, taken from different devices, and following the dark blue van through the industrial area until it vanished completely. 

Less than two hours after Nathan's call, Tony speed-dialed a number he hadn't used in years yet remembered easily. It rang several times and Tony wondered if Nathan would pick up after their earlier non-argument.

"Tony."

"Concentrate your search on these two warehouses a few blocks on from your current position." Tony sent the details directly to Nathan's phone, aware from the GPS locator that his younger brother was already on the outskirts of Sommersville.

"Thank you," Nathan replied softly before ending the call, and it was the first kind word that had passed between them since that argument over him bedding Allison all those years ago.

On impulse he called out, "Prepare the suit."

****

Jack opened heavy eyes and groaned in pain when he tried to raise his head. He was sprawled out on the grimy floor of some dilapidated building. The room was small, barely ten feet square, and the only light was coming from a single bulb hanging forlornly from the center of the ceiling. The meager light barely reached the corners of the room. He pushed himself up to sitting, leaning back against the wall for support.

The last thing he recalled was racing after some hiker guy who said his friend had taken a fall. The guy had started running off before Jack could tell him to hold on while he called for assistance, so Jack had done the only thing he could under the circumstances. He had grabbed for his trusty old radio that seemed to get better reception than his cell phone out in the woods, and raced after the guy before he lost him.

Jack was a city kid, but he'd had to chase a few fugitives through wooded areas during his years as a U.S. Marshal. He was not as good as Taggart but he could certainly follow the trail of someone making no effort to cover their tracks, and quickly caught up, eventually taking the lead. The trail of broken twigs and stomped ground led to a clearing, and that was when he noticed the hiker had dropped further behind him. Jack stopped and turned, twisting on his heel at the unmistakable click of a gun being primed.

"Very carefully. With two fingers only, I want you to remove your gun and throw it towards me."

Jack complied. "Who are you?"

"Did I say you could ask questions?" The man gave a malicious smile. "Now take out the handcuffs."

Jack hesitated a moment but the gun jerked up with obvious intent; he reached for the handcuffs attached to the back of his belt.

"Now snap one side on your left wrist."

Jack sighed but followed the instruction.

"Good man. Now. Right hand only. Take off the utility belt and throw it to your left."

"What do you want with me?"

"One more question and I put a bullet in your arm. Now shut up and do as I say."

The hard tone and the coldness in the man's eyes, seen in the last dappled light of the day, told Jack this man wasn't bluffing. Plus his sixth sense had kicked in, warning him that the ' _hiker_ ' was not alone. He could almost hear others breathing behind him. Very carefully, he reached up with one hand and released the utility belt, letting it hang from his fingers.

"Throw it, cuff your right wrist, and then take five steps backwards."

A rustle from behind proved his sixth sense was working all too well and he was tempted to glance over his shoulder.

"No. You just keep your eyes on me... _Marshal_. Do as I say and then start walking backwards."

A sense of dismay opened a pit in his stomach because that one word proved that this wasn't a random event. He hadn't been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. He'd been targeted, hunted down and lured out, because even his former friends in the U.S. Marshals hadn't been informed of where he had been assigned due to Eureka's top secret status. He had signed a thick bunch of papers to preserve that secret - or end up in prison. They all believed he'd been posted to Washington D.C., and none had been made aware of his change of title from Marshal to Sheriff. Yet it was pretty obvious from his uniform that he was a sheriff so the use of his old title meant that this was something catching up with him from his past, from before Eureka.

Jack was good at remembering faces, but he didn't recognize this man even though there was something familiar about him. All Jack knew was that this man wasn't one of the fugitives Jack had hunted down and hauled in, or some felon he'd arrested while protecting a federal witness or judge. Of course he could easily be an associate or a family member of someone from Jack's past, seeking revenge.

The utility belt gave a soft thud as it hit the soft ground off to his left. With every nerve in his body wanting to resist, he stepped backwards, knowing there was someone behind him but reasoning that if they had wanted him dead then he would already be dead. On his fifth step, hands grabbed his arms and he yelped as something sharp was plunged into the side of his neck. The world began to swim before him, the light fading, and his last sight was the ground rushing towards him before the strong hands digging into his arms arrested the fall. Words followed him down into the darkness as he lost consciousness.

"Put him in the back of the van."

Now he was awake and sitting with his back against the crumbling plaster in this abandoned place. His fingers rubbed at the sore spot on his neck from the hypodermic needle used to drug him. His throat and mouth felt dry, as if all the moisture had been sucked away, and he wondered how long he had been unconscious. Jack glanced down but his wristwatch had gone, and with no windows he had no way of telling if it was night or day. It felt late though.

"Zoe," he murmured. 

She would be frantic by now, wondering why he hadn't come home. When she couldn't reach him she would call Jo, and Jo would try to reach him, and when Jo couldn't, she would contact Global and go looking for him. It's how they worked and despite his fear, it gave him a small amount of comfort just knowing someone would be looking for him.

He heard the echo of footsteps beyond the room and began to struggle to his feet, not wanting to be caught so vulnerable on the ground. The footsteps came closer, stopping right outside the room, and he listened to the slide of a bolt before the handle began to turn. The door slammed open, making him flinch, and he groped behind him, using the wall for support as two men entered the room, moving either side of the doorway. One of them was the hiker, and Jack ignored the man's nasty smile as he focused on the empty doorway, hearing another set of footsteps approaching.

The meager amount of light in the room, coupled with the stronger light in the hallway beyond, cast the newcomer in silhouette for a moment before he stepped into the light from that single bulb.

"Crap," Jack murmured under his breath as he recognized the man standing before him, recalling a fugitive hunt that had ended in a running gun battle between Moreno's gang and the U.S. Marshals. Jack had taken out Moreno's oldest son as he prepared to gun down a fellow marshal, and another marshal - Hinton - had taken out his second son. Moreno had surrendered at that point, and the last Jack heard, he was serving life for his crimes with no hope of parole. A quick glance confirmed one of Jack's earlier thoughts as he saw the resemblance between the hiker and Moreno, recalling a third son who had been maybe eleven or twelve at the time.

Now he understood why they had wanted him alive. It was so this man could kill him.

****

The three black Global Dynamic vehicles accompanying Nathan stopped right behind his car as he pulled up just out of view of the two buildings that Tony had pinpointed. Nathan climbed out of his car and waited as Lupo - dressed in full tactical gear - came up beside him with Taggart. The rest of the group accompanying them were part of Global's security force, and they looked pissed.

Nathan had always believed there was a chasm between the security in Global and the law enforcement in town, especially as Carter was never a part of the military. Yet they had all scrambled, eager to volunteer for this rescue mission, determined to get ' _their man_ ' back, and acting as if Carter's abduction was a physical attack on Eureka. It occurred to Nathan that somehow over the past few years, Carter had become the heart of Eureka... and Global was just one - admittedly large - part of that town. Perhaps it was because he didn't answer to the military, but mostly Nathan suspected it was because Carter put people before science, willing to stand up and argue for what he believed, and willing to throw himself into danger to save another's life.

Carter took his duty seriously and though that had been the source of great irritation, Nathan had to admire him for it. Except admiration had gradually evolved into a far different beast, and the longer Carter was missing, the less able he was to deny the nature of that beast.

It was the stupid heroics and the way Carter refused to back down, and how deeply he felt for every life entrusted to him that had first made Nathan take a closer look at him as a real person rather than just as an annoying rival. To be truthful, Nathan had been more than happy with the split from Allison until Jack Carter showed his interest in her. They'd had four years of marriage to figure out where they belonged in each other's life and discovered that neither of them was willing to make sacrifices for the other. He may have been the one who packed his bags and moved out first but she had already left at that point, having accepted the D.O.D. Liaison role in Eureka and simply assuming that he would follow her.

Nathan sighed heavily, all too aware of his personal flaws that included a possessive and highly competitive nature.

He still loved her, and he guessed he always would. He just couldn't live with her, but seeing Carter sniffing around Allison had intensified those personal flaws and he had almost remarried Allison before he remembered the insurmountable problem with their relationship. Fortunately, the time loop incident had interrupted the wedding ceremony, and by the time he and Carter had saved the universe, Nathan had come to his senses. Just as fortunately, so had Allison, though it did come as a surprise when they both expected Carter to make his move on Allison now that Nathan was out of the way, only for nothing to happen. Carter made just one half-hearted attempt to gain Allison's attention and then walked away without a fight when she said she wanted a little time alone.

"We ready?" Lupo asked, and Nathan nodded.

Lupo had a steely gaze that matched the rest of her team. He had tried to persuade her to stay behind in Eureka and discovered she was as obstinate as Jack. He closed his eyes. Carter. Not Jack. He couldn't afford to let his emotions rule him if he wanted to find Carter and bring him home safely to the daughter and town that loved him.

"The van went through here and never came back out. It's a dead end. Two buildings."

"I need you to stay well back," Lupo ordered as she hefted a gun and nodded towards Nathan's head of security.

Nathan sighed and nodded, aware that he would only be a liability even though he had one of the protective vests designed by Kim Anderson beneath his shirt and jacket. At least Lupo hadn't ordered him to wait in the car like some errant child, and he had no doubt that he would have been given no choice if that was the case. Lupo was intimidating under normal conditions; here she was downright scary.

The team moved forward, splitting into two groups like a well-oiled machine. He joined Lupo's group, hanging back as they entered the darkened building. It was an old warehouse unit, fallen into disrepair, with thick cobwebs forming natural curtains. The play of flashlights across the floor showed the dust undisturbed, and when they reached the large open center of the warehouse, it was obvious that nothing larger than a rat had been there for some time.

Lupo tapped her headset radio. "Nothing over here, Team 2. We're going to go through and enter your building from the rear. Over."

Not having a headset, Nathan didn't hear the answer but Lupo set off at a determined pace with the others fanned out behind her. When they reached the center of the second building, they found the van and approached it silently from all sides. No one was prepared to take any chances that it had been rigged with explosives, so they moved in carefully, examining it thoroughly before moving to the back doors. Lupo counted down from three with her fingers, and two guards opened the back doors to reveal a dark, empty interior.

Nathan was caught between relief and disappointment. Part of him had feared that all they would find inside the back of the van was Jack's dead body, but the absence of a body at least gave him hope that Jack was still alive somewhere.

"We need to split up. Search this place from top to bottom," Lupo ordered while Taggart bent to examine the tracks in the months or years of dust covering the ground.

"I don't think they're here, Jo." Taggart indicated towards the tracks, crouching down to illuminate them with his flashlight. "These tracks match the tires on the van, but here you can see four different sets of prints, and these ones in particular made from size twelve, military-style boots." He looked up. "Not Global issue," he added. "The treads are lighter when approaching the van, heavier on the way back."

"Heavier? How much heavier?" Nathan asked as he crouched down beside Taggart.

"About 180lbs." Taggart answered with an eyebrow raised in meaning.

Nathan felt his heart sink in his chest. "Carter."

"That would be my guess, mate."

Nathan played his flashlight along the scuffed path leading from the back of the van through a small side door to the road outside. He stood up and followed the footprints to the slightly busier thoroughfare beyond, sighing in dismay as a heavy good truck drove past from one of the other warehouses further along that seemed to operate 24-7. Any vehicle tread marks would have been obliterated by more recent traffic, leaving them back where they started with no idea where to find Carter.

His cell phone rang and Nathan connected the call as soon as he saw the caller I.D.

"Fargo. Tell me you have good news for me."

"Um, actually, not really. The U.S. Marshals have another officer missing... Marshal Joshua Hinton, and that's a really big problem because the U.S. Marshals didn't mention this until after-."

"Fargo," Nathan growled. "Get on with it."

"I cross-referenced Hinton's name with the Sheriff's and found a link. Cesar Moreno. He was serving life for murder, but was released from prison five months ago after the star witness at his trial changed her story." Fargo went silent, and Nathan knew there was more he wasn't saying.

"Fargo," he growled again.

"Carter shot and killed his son," Fargo stated quickly. "Hinton killed another of his sons at the same time, during a running battle on a fugitive hunt. Both Carlos and Hector Moreno were firing on them at the time."

Nathan knew the situation had just become far more dangerous. If Moreno had Jack and Hinton then it was to exact his revenge on them, and Nathan could see only one outcome for that revenge - the eventual death of both men.

****

Jack held his broken arm against his chest and wrapped the other around his bruised and battered body. Moreno's men had worked him over pretty good and he could feel at least two ribs shifting - definitely broken. Beneath him his legs were trembling from the strain of standing for so long with the pain from the beating radiating through him, but he had to stay strong. The belt around his neck was fixed to the wall, allowing only four or five inches of movement. If his legs gave way then he'd slowly suffocate at the end of that chain, just like Hinton, whose grotesquely hanging body mocked him from the other side of the narrow room.

Jack wondered if Moreno had timed it so he was forced to witness Hinton's last moments, and watch him slowly strangled by the belt collar after he could no longer support his own weight. It hadn't been quick, and Jack had begged the man to get his feet back under him, watching futilely as Hinton struggled and failed, gradually falling still in death.

Moreno had taped Hinton's death, playing it back over and over until even he got bored of watching Hinton suffocate and die. Now he was waiting for Jack to suffer the same fate as Hinton.

Moreno and some of his men were lounging around on old couches set out at the end of the room and laughing as they watched a comedy program on a battered old television standing between Jack and Hinton. Jack couldn't see the screen but it seemed so surreal to hear all this laughter bouncing off the walls around him while he held on to life on shaking legs. Occasionally one of Moreno's men would throw something at him - a beer can or pretzels - just to get a reaction.

He closed his eyes and thought of Zoe. His beautiful girl. Thankful that Moreno had decided not to go Old Testament and demand an eye for an eye, a child for a child. His thoughts turned to Allison but he was wasn't surprised when her face slipped away quickly, replaced with a memory of Stark.

Nathan, he thought gently, because here at the end he could let go of the denial and accept what his heart had been telling him for years.

Jack had no doubt that he and Allison could have made a life together but each opportunity had slipped through their fingers for one reason or another as if it simply wasn't meant to be. The last chance had been on Allison's second wedding to Nathan, when he'd taken Lexi's advice and told Allison how he felt about her during one of the time loops. He had kissed her, and her reaction told him everything he needed to know. She knew in her heart that marrying Nathan was a mistake, but her heart wasn't beating for him either.

It took a few weeks after the time loop incident, and the non-wedding, for Jack to realize that his relief had as much to do with letting go of his childish crush over Allison as it had for not seeing Nathan take her hand again in marriage. It occurred to him then that he would never have seen Allison as more than a good friend if it hadn't been for the rivalry and alpha-posturing between him and Nathan.

She was strong and beautiful, and she was a good friend, and so easy to love.

He choked back a laugh, not wanting to draw attention, as he wondered how Nathan would feel if he knew that all of Jack's feelings for Allison were simply displaced feelings for him. It was not even as if Jack was some red-blooded, all-American, totally straight guy who had never considered the possibility of finding another man attractive. Even he had to agree with Taggart that time when Taggart described Nathan as the perfect male specimen, especially his abs.

Jack had never acted on any same-gender attraction though. He had never kissed another guy except in jubilation on the baseball field, and never checked out another guy's body in the after game showers except out of mild curiosity, knowing he was being checked out in turn. Perhaps if a good looking guy had approached him during those informative college years when he was the captain of the baseball team, then he might have been tempted to experiment a little, but instead he'd had his hands full with the cheerleaders and other girls attracted to him and his position.

Nathan was different though, and Jack had known that from the start, and denied it vehemently.

Abby would have a field day if she ever stopped fighting with him long enough to step back and look at him with a critical, professional eye. Except she might never get the chance now. Despite all the self-made promises never to end a day filled with regrets, aware of the dangers he faced daily, he had lied to himself. He had buried those regrets in layers of denial, and now it was too late to tell Nathan that it was never really Allison. It was him. Always him.

His knee gave way and he felt the bite of the belt around his throat, grabbing at the chain with his good hand to pull himself back upright. When he opened his eyes, Moreno was watching him avidly, the malevolent grin splitting his face from ear to ear. He stared at Jack for a several more minutes, waiting to see if Jack slipped again but eventually turned back to the television.

So close that time, and Jack wasn't sure how much longer he could stay on his feet.

****

As he debated what action to take next, a roaring sound had Nathan looking up and then flinching back as a man-shaped object landed solidly barely ten feet away. As it pushed upright, Nathan recognized the Iron Man suit with its distinctive red and gold colors.

"Stand down," Nathan ordered, glancing around to make sure his men and Lupo were lowering their weapons. He approached slowly, fascinated in spite of all his concerns for Jack. The face plate rose, revealing an all-too familiar face.

"Anthony."

"Nathan." Tony looked around, probably taking in the less than happy faces around him. "I'll take a guess he wasn't here." He smiled. "Luckily, I asked J.A.R.V.I.S. to continue checking the surrounding area, and there was another vehicle parked right here for an hour before the other van arrived. It left soon after, but it didn't go far. I figured you might need some extra firepower though."

Lupo had moved forward, displaying the kind of hero worship that Nathan had seen displayed by others ever since his brother told the world that he was Iron Man. Though, knowing Lupo, she was more excited by the weaponry on display than by the man inside the suit despite his brother's obvious charms.

"Stark?" She looked between them, probably seeing the similarities that came from their father, and it didn't help that Tony had taken to wearing a beard just like Nathan's too. "Related?"

"Brothers."

"Half-brothers."

They spoke at the same time and stared hard at each other, with Nathan mostly surprised that Tony had left the word ' _half_ ' off his sibling acknowledgment. Tony had always been so careful in the past to keep their different mothers as a barrier between them, but maybe that was more Obadiah's doing. Obadiah was dead now, leaving Nathan as Tony's only acknowledged blood relative, though a few distant relatives had tried crawling out the woodwork in the past in the hopes of getting their hands on some of the Stark family fortune. One of the traits he and Tony shared was the disdain they held for fools and money-grabbers, so those distant relatives soon crawled back to where they had come from once they realized nothing would be coming their way except for a restraining order.

Staring at his brother, Nathan wondered if, maybe, it was time to close the rift in their relationship. Although Tony hadn't phrased it as a question, Nathan answered, if only for Jack's sake.

"I _could_ use your help."

Tony smiled, and Nathan saw again the older boy who used to love to lord it over him as he let his younger half-sibling follow him around. But this time Nathan recognized the brotherly affection, realizing that it had always been there, just hidden whenever Obadiah was around.

"So where to?" Nathan asked, and felt his PDA vibrate. Glancing at it, he saw the new data streaming onto it, pinpointing the location about seven miles east of their position. It was an abandoned hotel sitting half a mile off the main highway between Sommersville and Eureka.

"Race you there, little brother," Tony smirked as the face plate came back down and the rockets fired. He was gone in seconds.

"Damn it!" Nathan cursed, silent praying Tony wouldn't get Jack killed with his impulsiveness.

He raced to his car, followed by the others and hit the gas hard, tires squealing as he peeled away leaving the smell of burnt rubber behind. The few traffic lights between him and the highway stayed green and though anyone else might have put that down to coincidence or sheer luck, Nathan grinned as his commands overrode the traffic controls for the final set of lights. The three black global dynamics vehicles followed close behind as they weaved between the light traffic and raced towards the abandoned hotel.

His fear that Tony would do something stupid and head in alone turned out to be groundless as Iron Man suddenly appeared alongside his car window, matching him for speed, and only lifting away occasionally to avoid colliding with oncoming traffic. With less than a mile to go, Tony sped up suddenly and dropped down behind the cover of a stand of trees beside the highway. Nathan pulled up beside him, with the three Global vehicles drawing up seconds later in a row behind him.

Lupo and Taggart were out of their car immediately, pointing highly confidential surveillance equipment towards the night-darkened shape of the distant building, but Nathan had given them permission to use anything they needed from Global to help find Jack. Looking over Lupo's shoulder, he saw the body-heat signatures of at least fifteen men spread throughout the building and surrounding grounds, and a further seven clustered in one small area though something was interfering with the signal. Nathan had a feeling that Jack was in the middle of that cluster but at this distance it was impossible to distinguish between the different signatures when they were so close together.

"We need to get closer," he stated softly. "And quietly. As soon as they realize they are under attack, they could kill him."

"If he's not already dead," Taggart added, raising his hands in apology when both Nathan and Lupo glared at him.

Even though Nathan wanted to take charge, he bowed to Lupo's greater tactical knowledge, listening as she outlined a plan for taking out the guards under cover of darkness before moving inside. He was surprised when Tony listened too rather than rushing in, and it occurred to Nathan that perhaps this was Tony's way of trying to heal that rift between them.

As they finished the final preparations with everyone aware of the role they would play, Nathan felt the heaviness of metal on his arm.

"When this is over, you owe me dinner," Tony stated but Nathan knew his brother wanted more than just an expensive meal. He wanted to know all about Jack Carter, and how Jack had managed to steal Nathan's heart. It seemed ironic that his estranged brother knew more than the object of Nathan's affection than the actual person - Jack - and Nathan prayed he would be given the chance to rectify that.

"You help me get Carter back alive and whole, and I'll buy you a bottle of Ladybank Single Malt to drink afterwards."

It wasn't the most expensive whiskey in the world, being little more than pocket change for Tony, but the offer proved how serious this was for Nathan.

Tony nodded in understanding. "Let's go get your sheriff back."

****

Tony knew next to nothing about Carter because he hadn't had time to check out Carter's life history. All he knew for certain was that this man was important to his younger brother, and getting Carter killed would not help him mend his relationship with Nathan. It would likely destroy what was left. So Tony reined in every urge to simply smash through the closest wall and rain fire down on the men inside.

It helped that he had once been a hostage, so he knew any rash actions on his part would be the quickest way to get Jack Carter killed. Others might question his cavalier attitude, calling it arrogance and narcissism, but those months held in a cave in Afghanistan - and witnessing Yinsen's sacrifice - had taught him a little humility and patience.

Not much, admittedly, but enough to hold him back in this instance.

He easily tracked Lupo and her team through the dark grounds as they split up to take out the exterior guards, waiting until the right moment before moving in closer to the old hotel. His infra-red sensors began to separate the individual heat signatures inside the room, and he frowned when he registered a rapidly cooling eighth signature held against one wall at a strange angle.

A recently deceased body, Tony presumed.

By now Nathan and the others would have picked up that cooling signature, and Tony wondered if they were already too late to save Nathan's sheriff.

Most of the other heat signatures were clustered in the center of the room leaving the final one leaning against the wall opposite the dead body. Tony wasn't usually one for hunches but as he watched the figure collapse awkwardly and then struggle back upright, watched by another who made no attempt to assist, Tony was convinced that this was Carter - or if not him then another hostage. The second figure watched for a few minutes longer before rejoining the others.

"You were watching him struggle," he murmured to himself, glancing back at the cooling body on the opposite wall and realizing that the reason for the strange angle was because the body was hanging by the neck. He mentally played back the other hostage's struggle from moments earlier and knew, without a doubt, what had happened. "You were watching him choke."

Tony focused back on the figure leaning up against the wall, noticing how the man held one arm cradled to his chest and the other raised, gripping tightly onto something close to his neck. He also saw the way the man's legs were trembling.

"Nathan? Are you seeing this?"

"Yes."

He didn't need to ask his brother if he understood exactly what he was seeing because the fear and horror was obvious in that single, barely breathed word. The hostage's legs gave way again, and this time the hostage seemed unable to get his knees locked under him.

"I'm going in," Tony stated, in a tone that brooked no argument, because if it was Carter then they had run out of time. He was choking to death, and Tony was the only one who could reach him before it was too late.

"Go!" Nathan yelled.

Tony smashed through the wall, placing himself between the hostage and the other men. It took him only a quick glance to determine that it was Carter, still dressed in the torn remnants of a beige sheriff's uniform. He snatched up Carter, supporting his weight while he used a laser to cut through the thick chain holding Carter bolted to the wall. Bullets ricocheted harmlessly off his Iron Man suit but Tony ignored the gunmen, smiling wryly as Lupo and her team came through the only doorway firing, with Nathan only a few steps behind them.

Tony lowered Carter to the floor as Nathan made a hunched dash across the room towards them, skidding to a halt as he dropped down onto his knees beside Carter, and Tony did the best he could to shield both men. He watched as Nathan pulled out a small laser scalpel so he could cut through the leather strap encircling Carter's neck, which had tightened when Carter fell.

"Damn it!" Nathan cursed as Carter continued to struggle weakly, his lips turning blue from lack of oxygen, "Jack, stop struggling."

Either his words must have cut through the panic, or Carter had lost consciousness, because Carter stilled. Moments later the strap fell away, and Carter took in several deep, shuddering breaths.

This close to the Sheriff, Tony could read the catalog of Carter's injuries on his display screen, and although serious, none were immediately life-threatening. The greater danger - of being caught by a stray bullet - was contained quickly and efficiently as the last of the hostage takers fell beneath Lupo's attack.

As the room fell silent, Tony realized that only thirty-five seconds had passed since he smashed through the wall.

****

A voice cut through his panic as Jack struggled to breathe. He recognized both the voice and the equally familiar cologne that caught at his senses; a scent he had come to associate with feigned rivalry and good-natured teasing since Allison turned both of them down, taking away their reason for fighting. Even though his whole body was straining for air, he stilled at Nathan's command.

Moments later, the belt around his neck was gone and he was dragging in air into his abused lungs while leaning into the strong body and arms holding him tightly. He could hear Nathan's rapid heartbeat beneath his ear, and could feel it slowing as the sounds of gunfire died away. Jack focused on that heart beat and let it calm his own racing pulse until, eventually, he felt calm enough to speak.

"Nathan?"

His voice was husky from the near-strangulation, and from dehydration too as it had been hours since he last had a drink of any kind.

"I got you," Nathan murmured, tightening his grip almost painfully as Jack felt two ribs move unnaturally. He felt more movement as Nathan raised his head to someone - or something - standing over them. "We've got you," he said a little louder.

Looking up through only one good eye, with the other too swollen from the beating he'd taken earlier, Jack flinched when he saw the strange robot standing over him. His first thought was that it had to be something from Section 5, but then he managed to focus enough to catch the shape and colors, realizing it was no robot. He's seen the footage of Iron Man, and of the man inside the suit - Tony Stark.

Who hadn't?

He just never expected to find the world's latest superhero standing over him, unless this was just some hallucination brought on by an oxygen deprived brain.

Looking across the room, Jack recognized Jo in full warrior mode, and smiled weakly at her triumphant grin. He knew she was in her element right now and he'd never been so pleased to see his G.I. Josefina in action. His eyes flicked to the other wall and he made a feeble attempt to stand, wanting to get to Hinton and release him from the chain that still held his dead body in its stranglehold. His legs wouldn't straighten beneath him.

"Whoa! Easy, Jack."

"Hinton," he coughed, leaning back heavily into Nathan, muscles trembling and ribs aching. "He was a... U.S. Marshal... and a good man. He didn't deserve..." He trailed off, struggling with the words.

"Deputy Lupo will take good care of him." Nathan stated gently, though loud enough for his voice to carry. Jack glanced up and caught Jo's nod of acknowledgment before she moved towards Hinton. He watched as two Global security guards supported the body while Jo cut through the chain, laying Hinton down on the floor gently afterwards.

Leaving Jo, Taggart and the Global security team with the clean up, Nathan elicited the help of Iron Man in carrying Jack out to his car. Once settled into the passenger seat, Jack watched Nathan exchange a few quiet words before Iron Man took to the skies. Even though his mind was fogged with pain and fatigue, the connection suddenly clicked.

"Stark."

By now the car was moving, and Nathan glanced sideways at him, questioningly.

"Relative?" Jack asked.

Nathan sighed. "Half-brother. Older," he added in afterthought.

"Huh! Should have guessed you'd be related."

Nathan's lips twitched in merriment. "What gave it away? The handsomely rugged dark looks and charm?"

Jack grinned, silently having to admit that those were definitely some of the attributes the brothers shared, but Jack could think of many more similarities between them that were a lot less flattering. For once he held back on a comment because it seemed rude to insult two men who had just saved his life. With one eye almost swollen shut, it didn't take much more effort to simply close the good eye too, and let his head roll against the headrest.

"Jack? Jack, stay with me," Nathan ordered, and the tension in Nathan's voice brought him rolling his head back so he could open his good eye and look at Nathan.

"Tired," he whispered.

Relief seemed to fill Nathan's eyes as they flicked twice between him and the road ahead. "I... We're almost there."

A glance out of the side window revealed that ' _almost there_ ' referred to Global Dynamics and, more likely, to the infirmary in the medical section on Level 1. He was surprised to see several medical staff waiting with a gurney just outside the main entrance, but too tired to care. After Nathan came to a stop, Jack tried to pull himself out of the car but gave in to his weakness, and to the stronger hands reaching for him. Seconds later he was flat on his back on the gurney with the ceiling of Global racing past in a blur as his one good eye lost focus.

He was barely holding onto consciousness as they lifted him from the gurney onto a medical table, and unable to muster up even a little indignation as his dignity was shredded by the sharp implements cutting away his clothing. All his thoughts were spiraling down as he finally gave into the demands of his injured and exhausted body.

****

Nathan looked up from his computer desktop as Allison stepped into the room.

"How's Carter?"

"He's doing fine, Nathan. But you already know that."

Nathan winced slightly at Allison's smug expression. He had tried to keep the number of calls he made to medical to a minimum but even one call a day was probably more than anyone expected from him. Instead he had found excuses to call or visit medical on four separate occasions since handing Jack over to the Global doctors eight hours earlier.

She tilted her head, dark eyes running over him. "Have you been home at all since yesterday?"

He gave her a tight smile. It wasn't the first time he had put in more than twenty-four hours without taking a break to sleep and change clothes, and it probably wouldn't be the last time either.

"And when did you last eat?" she added.

He sighed heavily.

"Come on," she said with a smile. "I'll let you buy me breakfast in the cafeteria."

"It's free," he murmured.

"Good. Then I'll buy."

Nathan rolled his eyes at the old joke but secretly he was glad she still teased him. Accepting defeat graciously, he secured his computer and followed her out.

Halfway through breakfast, Nathan received a call from Doctor Lumis.

"You wanted me to contact you as soon as Sheriff Carter woke up."

"Thank you." Nathan ended the call and looked across the table to find Allison watching him and waiting patiently. "Carter's awake."

"I know," she stated.

Of course she knew, he thought, seeing the flash of a text message received on her cell phone.

Having been vindicated in the death of Kim Anderson, after Henry discovered Beverly Barlowe's sabotage, the D.O.D. had reinstated Nathan as joint head of Global Dynamics with Allison, and they had shared the administrative responsibilities for each section between them. Lumis had probably sent her a text before contacting him, especially as she had overall responsibility for the Medical section at Global.

"Finish your breakfast, Nathan, then we can both go check on Carter."

The temptation to simply push the remaining food aside, or wolf it down to finish faster, was strong but Nathan resisted, not wanting to add more fuel to the gossip already spreading like a wild fire through Global since earlier this morning. Eventually, he swallowed the last mouthful of coffee and together they bused their trays. As they made their way back through Global to the medical section, Nathan cast dark looks at a still-smiling Allison.

"What?" he asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

When her smile widened, Nathan suddenly realized why he had fallen just as hard for Jack as he had once fallen for Allison. They both had that same teasing nature and wide, open smiles that lit up their eyes. Despite everything Jack had seen during his long career in law enforcement - and if his personal files even hinted at half of the horror stories that was a lot of bad shit - Jack was even-natured and outwardly friendly to everyone he met. Nathan was willing to accept that the earlier animosity between them was totally his own fault. He had driven the wedge between them at their second meeting, but these past months since the non-wedding had proved that Jack was willing to put all of that behind them and give them a fresh chance.

Nathan realized that he had actually come to enjoy sharing a meal with Jack at Café Diem, and letting the conversation drift away from Global business to less world-shattering topics such as sports, movies, and even a little local gossip. He had even managed to get Jack to try something other than a cheeseburger and fries on one occasion, much to Vincent's delight. Of course, Jack had retaliated by making him order a cheeseburger at their next meal, though Nathan was still convinced that Jack simply liked to tease Vincent.

Vincent forgave him though. He loved Jack. Hell, the whole town seemed to love Jack; taken in by his boyish charm and ready smile.

By now they had reached the medical section and Nathan allowed Allison to enter a step ahead of him, breath catching when Jack smiled softly at Allison first but widened his smile when he caught sight of Nathan. Stepping up beside the bed, Nathan picked up the medical report and scanned through it, not surprised to see the list of injuries sustained because he'd already gone through the list several times already. He missed the exchange between Jack and Allison but looked down at Jack now, taking in the bruising to his face and the cast on his arm.

"I'd say you've never looked better, Carter, but I'd be lying."

"Great bedside manner, Stark," Jack replied sourly, but Nathan could see a glint of merriment in his eyes.

Nathan grinned back.

"Boys. Behave," Allison stated.

Personally, Nathan was pleased to see Jack was no worse for his ordeal mentally, even if he did look a physical wreck. Admittedly, without Global's more advanced medical equipment he would have looked even worse but the latest technology had reduced the healing time on his bruising by at least thirty percent. Instead of his face still being a swollen mess, the worst of the swelling had gone down, and the bruising was now a mottled green instead of a vivid black, blue and red. The bruises from the strap cutting into his throat were a mottled green and blue as well and, fortunately, that was the extent of the damage to his windpipe. From the injuries to his face, Jack was lucky not to have fractured a cheek bone to go with his broken arm and cracked ribs. As it was, Lumis planned on keeping Jack in the infirmary for at least two more days under observation, just to be on the safe side.

He wondered if Lumis had broken that news to Jack yet.

Nathan knew it could have gone far worse for Jack. It could just as easily have been Jack lying in a drawer down in the morgue, awaiting shipping back to his family for burial or cremation. It made him realize that he couldn't afford to keep dancing around whatever this thing was between him and Jack, and from the looks Jack kept casting at him as he smiled and joked with Allison, he was sure Jack knew this too.

"Well I can't sit around talking all day, as much as I enjoy it," Allison smiled to take the sting out of her words. She stood up and moved towards the door, turning on the threshold. "Nathan? Go home. Get some sleep."

Nathan was glad of his slightly darker complexion, aware that it hid the way his cheeks now burned with embarrassment at having Allison allude to his lack of sleep while waiting for Jack's return to consciousness. She was still smiling as she left the infirmary, leaving Nathan alone with Jack.

"Aww! I didn't know you cared," Jack quipped, smiling mischievously, but Nathan could see the hope flaring in his eyes.

"I don't," Nathan replied airily. "Just making sure you don't die on Global's dime, Sheriff."

But they both knew that was a lie, and Nathan sighed as Jack's lips twitched into a bigger smile. He wished they had privacy for what Nathan really wanted to say to him, but Jack was attached to wires and surrounded by monitors, with medical staff within hearing. He watched Jack's smile falter, face gaining that serious expression that Nathan knew so well.

"We need to talk... Later. In private."

Nathan nodded. "I know."

"Do you? Really?"

"Yeah. I do."

Nathan saw Jack's expression change to one laced with a little fear and he reached out, squeezing one hand in reassurance. The gesture wasn't lost on either of them. He let go when Zoe came rushing into the infirmary with Lupo a few steps behind, and slipped away as Zoe carefully hugged her dad, silently hoping that one day he might be able to do the same.

****

Two days of enforced bed rest in the Infirmary had Jack just about climbing the walls with boredom and frustration. The only respite came from the many visitors, but he found he tired too quickly. The hardest part had been giving his account of what had happened to him... and to Hinton. He didn't sleep well that night, with his dreams filled with memories of watching Hinton suffocate before the belt started tightening around his own throat.

He had woken up gasping, wide-eyed in fear, with his heart racing, only calming as the doctor on night duty gave gentle reassurance as she injected a mild sedative into his I.V.

Nathan had dropped by on some pretense or another on a few occasions, stopping long enough to needle him if anyone was in earshot, or quietly ask how he was doing if not. The anticipation was killing Jack, knowing that neither of them could make any other moves until they had the privacy they needed, so he was relieved when Lumis came over, smiling at Jack for once.

"Looks like we can let you get out of here, Sheriff."

Jack threw back the cover immediately but Lumis leaned in and pushed on his shoulder.

"Not so fast! I do have a series of instructions that I expect you to adhere to until I say otherwise."

Jack settled back and sighed, but offered a wry smile nonetheless. He should have known there would be a catch.

"I expect you back here in two days for a check up. No lifting, no alcohol, very low impact exercise... and listen to your body. If it hurts then stop. I don't want you back in here because those ribs gave way." Lumis stared hard at Jack, waiting until Jack gave a slight nod to prove he was listening. "You're on sick leave until further notice, and then you can return to work, light duty only until I give you a clean bill of health. Got it?"

Jack nodded again. "Got it."

He handed Jack the meds he needed to take along with instructions and once Lumis was convinced Jack understood he smiled again.

"I'll send Deputy Lupo in then."

Jo headed back to the Sheriff's Office as soon as she dropped him off at the bunker, and Jack breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped inside.

"Sheriff Carter, it's good to have you home."

"Thanks, S.A.R.A.H., it's good to be home."

Jack was surprised at how much the simple car ride home had tired him. He sank onto the couch with a cold, non-alcoholic drink, and flicked through the programs S.A.R.A.H. had saved for him, but nothing appealed. Finally, he settled on some science program that Zoe had saved, deciding that if he didn't have the energy to watch a game then the next best thing was sleep. And what better way to drift off than listening to someone trying to describe wormholes or artificial intelligence or something else boring and sciencey.

He slept fitfully and only woke when S.A.R.A.H. announced a visitor.

"What's the time?"

"It's 13:30. You have been asleep for two hours and twenty-two minutes."

Jack rubbed the sleep from his eyes with his left hand before yawning and rubbing that hand over his face. "Who's at the door?"

"Doctor Stark."

He felt his stomach flip nervously and cleared his throat. "Let him in, please."

The door swung open and Nathan stepped into the bunker, glancing around until he spotted Jack. He frowned as Jack raked a hand through the short strands of his hair.

"You okay?"

Jack blinked and nodded. "Fell asleep."

"I can come back later-."

"No. Stay. Drink?"

Nathan moved further into the room and nodded. Jack felt those intense blue-green eyes following him across to the kitchen as he fetched the drink Nathan requested and S.A.R.A.H. had poured in readiness. He handed it over, hearing a murmured thanks, and sank back onto the couch, inviting Nathan to join him.

Nathan surprised Jack by sitting down right beside him within touching distance, and some of the awkwardness fell away. Jack wasn't sure how he knew Nathan felt the same way as him, only that he did. It was a deep, gut instinct that Jack had learned to trust over the years, and unlike with Allison, there were no mixed messages here. Admittedly, this could have been a figment of his oxygen-deprived imagination but he had felt certain of Nathan's feelings for him from the moment Nathan pulled him into his arms back in that old hotel room; he had already dropped all the pretense and denial on his own part.

Jack was just surprised that it had taken this near death experience rather than any of the ones that had come before. He must have stared death in the face a dozen times over since coming to Eureka. He guessed the only difference this time was those long hours hanging between life and death, looking back on his life and the chances he had squandered on the mistaken belief that Allison was the one he wanted.

Watching Hinton die so horrifically, and feeling the bite of that belt around his own throat had given him clarity. It had made him face the truth and now Jack knew what he wanted, and he knew life was too damn short to stand around hoping it would simply drop into his lap. He had to take a chance and grab for it with both hands.

He snorted softly in self-deprecation, reaching out and letting his fingers brush over Nathan's face until the weight of the cast and the dull ache of his broken arm forced him to drop his right hand away, only to feel the weight of his arm supported as Nathan reached back.

Their first kiss was soft and exploratory, a mere press of lips but Jack felt as if he had been zapped by some Global experiment. The sensation sparked through him in a way he hadn't felt in decades, and his body reacted immediately. Wanting, and demanding, and dragging them both back into a second kiss that held none of the tentative sweetness of the first.

For the first time since Moreno's men grabbed him, he felt alive; truly alive rather than suspended between life and death. Nathan used his greater size to push Jack backwards, and Jack winced as his ribs protested the movement, feeling Nathan freeze above him. Eyes darkened in need and desire looked straight into Jack's, and Jack could see his own battered reflection in them. The pressure lessened as Nathan eased back a little, curbing his own desire with a gentleness that almost took Jack's breath away when Nathan leaned in to kiss him softly. He felt Nathan stretch out alongside him, molding their bodies together on the narrow couch, and holding him carefully.

"Not here," Nathan murmured. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm tougher than I look right now. You won't break me."

Nathan grinned and kissed him again. "Don't intend to. Let's just take it slow... Jack."

"I can do slow."

****

Nathan eased off the couch carefully and offered a hand to Jack. He noticed the winces that Jack couldn't quite hide as he stood up, but Nathan refrained from mentioning Jack's weakness, leading him up the stairs towards the bedroom instead. Jack stopped just inside the room looking adorably pensive, and it occurred to Nathan that Jack wasn't used to having someone stronger looking after him. Under normal circumstances, they would be fighting for the more dominant role right about now, with neither of them willing to give in easily.

With his injuries hampering his movement, Jack didn't have that luxury, yet Nathan could see the stubborn set of his jaw as he straightened as best he could.

"Slow," Nathan repeated, his unspoken words trying to convey reassurance that this did not have to be a fight between them for dominance, and that they could meet as equals.

He saw Jack lose the tension in his body, and Nathan relaxed too, making the first move as he loosened his tie and removed it. His suit jacket followed, carefully hung on the back of a chair. He sat on the edge of the bed and reached down to untie his shoes, pulling them off along with his socks, which he balled into the relevant shoe before lining the shoes up under the bed, out of harm's way. When he looked back up, Jack was still standing just inside the room watching him intently.

Nathan stood up and walked barefoot towards him.

"Need some help?" Nathan asked softly.

He reached out to brush fingers across the oversized t-shirt that someone had thoughtfully provided back at Medical; one that stretched easily over the cast on his arm and the ace bandage wrapped around to support his ribs. Jack lifted his arms slightly, and that was confirmation enough for Nathan. To be honest, Nathan had never realized how erotic it was to undress a partner before now. He'd had so few partners, too consumed by a lust for science, and Allison had always been so forward, knowing exactly what she wanted and preferring to undress herself as foreplay.

This quiet submission was so at odds to the man Nathan thought he knew, and yet it held its own power over him, making him feel humble for the privilege freely given.

He eased the t-shirt up slowly, freeing Jack's left arm and head before sliding it carefully over the cast on the broken right arm.

Nathan hadn't seen the full extent of Jack injuries until that moment and now, seeing the mottled bruising spread across Jack's torso and arms, he pulled back, afraid of hurting him. From the injuries, it looked like Moreno's men had systematically beaten Jack from head to toe, leaving bruises everywhere, and Nathan realized it had to have taken skill not to have accidentally beaten him to death in the process. Nathan knew from the medical charts that all the injuries except for the ribs and arm were superficial, but then Moreno had wanted Jack alive. He had wanted to watch both Jack and Hinton suffer for as long as possible in payback for the loss of his sons.

Moreno had gained his wish with Hinton, forcing Jack to witness the other man's death.

When Nathan drew away, Jack surged forward, with blue eyes wide and pleading, and it would have taken a far stronger man than he to refuse. He skimmed his fingers over the bruised skin, taking care not to place any pressure on the deeper bruises. Light kisses followed the path of his fingers until he was gently kissing the deeper bruising on Jack's throat.

This time when he drew back, it was not to stop what they had started but to remove the hindrance of his own clothing. He stripped down completely before turning his attention back on Jack, slowly divesting him of his remaining clothes. A gentle press of his hand moved Jack towards the bed, and Nathan once again debated on the wisdom of going any further as he watched Jack settle gingerly onto the mattress.

Jack let out a soft moan. "Oh, I'd forgotten how good this mattress feels."

Nathan grinned as he settled next to Jack on his side, and raised up on one elbow so he could look down at Jack. His eyes swept the length of Jack's body, silently wondering if there was any part of him that didn't hurt right now.

"Nathan?" The tone was hesitant.

He looked back up to find Jack watching him carefully with frown lines creasing his forehead, and decided to voice his earlier thought.

"Just wondering if there's any part of you that isn't hurting."

"I can think of one part," Jack murmured, grabbing Nathan's hand and placing it on his slowly thickening cock.

The flush on Jack's cheeks proved this was a bold move even for him, and Nathan didn't need to ask to know Jack likely had very little experience with guys. The part of Nathan that enjoyed teasing and baiting Jack almost slipped free but he decided he would save that for a time when Jack wasn't so vulnerable. Something must have shown in his expression though, for Jack's cheeks flushed deeper with embarrassment.

"I've not... I've thought about it but I've not..." He waved a hand between them. "With a guy."

"Eloquent as always," Nathan teased but leaned in to kiss away any sting from his words, only drawing back when he felt Jack relax into the kiss. 

His fingers wrapped around the now hard cock, and Nathan gave a few experimental tugs, hearing Jack's breath catch in his throat, but seeing only pleasure and not pain. Keeping his strokes firm but gentle, he kissed Jack again, swallowing a soft moan as Jack's hips bucked up just a little in demand for more. Nathan pulled back again, loosening his hold on Jack's cock.

"Nathan?"

"Ssh. I'm going to make it good for you, Jack."

Slowly, he moved down the bed, pressing soft kisses against bruised skin and regretting having to pass over the swathe of ace bandage that hid sensitive nipples. He kissed across the trembling abdominal muscles, finally reaching his goal. The fingers of Jack's left hand tangled in Nathan's hair as Nathan licked a stripe from base to head, tasting the bittersweet tang of precome on his tongue. Those fingers tightened when Nathan took Jack into his mouth, pressing the flat of his tongue against the sensitive bundle of nerves under the head.

"Oh God! That's..."

Nathan eased up a little, aware that the dull ache from the bruising could easily transform into pleasure and overload Jack with sensation too soon, or perhaps even turn pleasure into more pain instead. He wanted Jack to feel good. He wanted to ease him into welcome, bone-melting relief. So he took his time, and when Jack finally came, it was with a sigh rather than a shout, body going boneless with pleasure.

Licking his lips to taste the last overspill droplets of Jack's release, he eased back up the bed to find Jack barely awake. Nathan kissed him, sharing the bittersweet taste as he worked himself to climax, gasping into Jack's softly parted lips as he came; his semen striping Jack's skin. He let the kiss linger a moment longer, passion-sated, before drawing back to lie with his head on a shared pillow, their breath mingling as they stared sleepily at each other.

"Sleep now," Nathan whispered as his hand skimmed lightly over Jack's skin. "I've got you."

****

**Epilogue:**

Nathan smiled as he watched Jack's reaction to his first sight of the newly repaired Stark building that dominated the New York skyline. The helicopter angled towards it, aiming for the helipad on the roof, and it settled down with barely a bump. He was still surprised that Jack hadn't made more of a fuss about traveling from Eureka to New York by jet and helicopter, having been told by Zoe that Jack hated flying.

As the helicopter's rotors slowed, they climbed out and made their way across the pad to the rooftop building access to the first of several surprises. The first was seeing Tony waiting for them with more patience than Nathan had ever seen his older brother display in the past. He was surprised again when, instead of just a handshake, Tony pulled him in for a brotherly hug before pulling back. Tony kept one arm on Nathan, eyeing Jack carefully before offering a hand in greeting, adding a third surprise because Tony tended to avoid any intimate contact except between the sheets with whomever had caught his roving eye. Nathan hoped Tony hadn't any designs on Jack because he would be sorely disappointed.

They moved into the soundproofed interior.

"You look a lot better from the last time I saw you," Tony remarked at Jack.

In the three weeks since the abduction, most of the bruises had faded and the only visible sign of Jack's injuries was the cast on his arm. Even the medical breakthroughs of Global Dynamics could only accelerate the healing so far, though at least the cast would be off within a month instead of the normal six weeks for a serious break. Then would come physio, but Nathan was already considering some incentives to help Jack regain full use and strength in his arm.

"So how was the flight out here?" Tony asked, indulging in small talk for once.

"The flight was fine," and Nathan finally let his curiosity win out as he turned to Jack. "I'm just a little confused as I thought I'd have to sedate you."

"Sedate me? Why?"

"Zoe said ' _the big, bad Sheriff is scared of flying_ '."

"Scared? Nah. I'm not scared of flying. I just hate it. Couldn't be a U.S. Marshal if I was scared of flying."

Tony looked taken aback. "You hate flying?"

Jack shrugged. "Try traveling coach some time... or Con Air. See how much you like it then."

Nathan and Tony glanced at each other, and Tony shrugged. "He has a point. I've seen that movie."

Jack grinned as Tony led them into the penthouse suite but Nathan could tell Jack was growing weary. He still tired too easily but Lumis said that was to be expected after the ordeal Moreno had put him through, not just physically but mentally too. Aware that Jack would remain stubbornly determined to ignore his fatigue, Nathan spoke up first.

"We should freshen up before dinner."

Tony led them down a hallway to a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the city, and while Jack was engrossed with the amazing view, Nathan moved back into the room with his brother.

"You still owe me dinner," Tony stated smugly.

"Which reminds me." Nathan retrieved his bag and opened it, removing a boxed item and handing it to Tony.

Tony raised both eyebrows as he opened the box to reveal the promised, expensive whiskey. He glanced towards the balcony. "Was he worth it?"

"This doesn't even come close to how much he's worth to me."

Tony nodded his understanding, smiling as he placed the box on the table close by before clapping his hands together.

"So. Dinner. And I know this place that does the most amazing freshly caught Atlantic Salmon..."

Nathan shook his head at his brother's enthusiasm, his smile growing when Jack pressed up against his side, left arm wrapping around Nathan's waist. He had his estranged brother back in his life, and he had Jack by his side.

Life couldn't get any better than this.

END

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Artwork for 'Blood Feud' by Tarlan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/837427) by [danceswithgary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithgary/pseuds/danceswithgary)




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